Wow, I've been away WAY too long. Lots to catch up on, like almost 8,000 deviations. Sigh... Much too much going on lately to keep up here!

OK, been away and too busy for a couple months now, but I'll TRY to keep up, I promise...

As many of you know, I do a lot of animal rescue work, and it's KITTEN SEASON, so I've been out at 5am 2-3 mornings a week with my "secret weapon" drop trap, fried chicken & sardines, trapping feral kittens to tame and put up for adoption. I've gotten 8 kittens in the last week. Lots of work, but nothing more rewarding!

The "secret weapon", by the way, is a big 3x3 wooden trap covered with plastic netting. You prop it up on a stick with a long string attached, put some yummy food under it, and wait for the cats to go eat. Then, you pull out the prop - like we used to trap our house cats under a laundry basket when we were kids! Works just as well with feral kittens. In fact, it's the best way to trap a lot of them quickly.

Well, some of you have been following the saga of Walter Wang, my "current" rescue cat, who has FIV and will not be easy to adopt out.

I recently took him to the vet for a thorough exam, X-rays, blood work, etc... It turns out, most unfortunately, that he has a severely enlarged heart - cardiomyopathy, or congestive heart failure. It's a result of his hard life on the streets and the disease he carries.

He probably won't be with us for long, maybe 6 months or a year, but I never take dire predictions too seriously. He could live 5 years with proper care. He's fine for now, a very sweet, wonderful kitty. I'll treat him as much as I can to keep him comfortable and prolong his days as much as possible without making him suffer unnecessarily. He doesn't have signs of pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs - common with this type of heart failure), but if he develops it, I'll put him on diuretics and amino acid supplements to reduce the fluid buildup and make sure he can breathe OK.

I'm not going to try and find another home for him. He can live here in my studio for as long as he has. The stress of moving into a new home with strange people might very well just kill him.

Such a good boy!

Well, there's some good news and some bad news on my rescue of Walter Wang, the big old Siamese tomcat I wrote about before...

Sadly, the animal rescue group I volunteer for cannot put him in our regular adoption program. I'll have to find a home for him on my own. Why?

He tested positive for FIV. FIV is basically the feline equivalent of HIV / AIDS. He is not sick now, and the disease is very hard to spread - blood-to-blood or sexual contact, just like people. Can't get it from a toilet seat. But, he will eventually have a compromised immune system, just like an AIDS patient. It's not as deadly for cats as it is for people, but it will probably eventually get him. He may live a respectable feline life-span, 12 or 15 years, but likely not as long as he would have without FIV.

The typical way that cats get FIV is from a deep bite wound. Male cats fight and get bloody cuts in their mouths, then bite another cat. Like I said, it doesn't spread TOO easily, but cats are more likely to have blood-to-blood contact than humans. They fight a lot.

But, it means I can't really keep him with my other cats. I feel like I'm discriminating - I have good (human) friends with AIDS. But, cats have blood-to-blood contact much more often than people. That's the simple truth of it. I also cannot foster other cats for my rescue group with him in the house. It's a real dilemma...

I got him neutered and vaccinated last Thursday. They also pulled several rotten or broken teeth and cleaned his whole mouth up, lanced a couple abscesses, gave him a fluoride treatment, etc... I got a good deal on all the vet work, less than $200. He's not too happy now because of the multiple vaccinations, a sore mouth, and, well, frankly, they cut his balls off. Bummer, dude... Adult tomcats tend to get a little depressed for a couple weeks after neutering. It's the sudden drop in testosterone. Kittens don't notice so much...

He's healthy now. Eating plenty, making a lot of noise, and grooming his fur properly. I think his mouth hurt too much to groom properly before. He's clean and almost shiny, after being dusty and greasy when we caught him. He'll have a fine, fluffy coat before too long.

I'd never kick this poor, sweet guy back out in the hard, cold streets just because he has FIV. I'll do my damnedest to find a home for him. I may have him living separately in my studio for a while, but I'll do what I can. He won't be too lonely - my other kitties can have supervised time with him. I just can't let him mix freely. Too much of a risk to my other 6 healthy cats. A minimal risk, but a real risk nonetheless.

Every cat I rescue, I make them one solid, inviolable promise. I actually speak this promise to them, quietly, right in their ear, shortly after I capture them. They are sitting in a cage, scared, confused, and sometimes very sick. I promise them this, often with tears in my eyes - "Don't worry, my friend. I'll help stop your pain. If you're hungry or thirsty or ill, I will care for you. You are a good cat. You'll be safe in my care. I'll do everything I can for you, everything I can to stop you from hurting."

Sometimes, the only thing a rescuer can do to "stop them from hurting" is to put them down. Not this guy. No way. He's a survivor. He still has at least 5 or 6 lives left...

I skipped a dentist's appointment for myself to pay for this cat's veterinary care. My teeth are fine. He needed help. So be it.

Well, I rescued another cat. My last five rescues have all been kittens, of which I adopted four, bringing me to my current SIX cats, which is the maximum allowed under Albuquerque's animal control ordinances. I've trapped and neutered almost all of the feral cats who hang around my yard, so I don't expect any more kittens this spring.

But, there are a couple of wily old toms I haven't been able to trap. One of them is a big, jowly, scarred-up Siamese we named Walter Wong. He's been around the whole time I've lived in this house, 2 1/2 years now. He can walk into a trap, eat the bait (sardines), and leave without tripping the mechanism. I've seen him do it. He turned around and pissed on the trap on his way out. Utter disdain, the kind that only felines can exhibit.

However, Walter isn't really a feral cat. The real ferals won't let you get anywhere near them. This guy is someone's abandoned pet. I'd frankly like to wring the neck of anyone who abandons any pet in the street, but that's another story. Anyhow, he has at least a minimal trust of humans, and we'd gotten him to come closer and closer over the last year or so, until we could eventually pet him and even pick him up on occasion. He's been very sick lately - pneumonia, eyes crusted shut with gunk, etc... We figured it was now or never, he might not live much longer. Pauline managed to catch him and stuff him in a carrier. He was so ill he didn't even put up a fight.

I have him in a big "cat condo" cage in the studio right behind me now. I have to keep him quarantined from the rest of my healthy cats until he gets over his infection and I can get him tested for feline leukemia and FIV (cat version of HIV - very nasty). I'm pumping him full of industrial-strength antibiotics, vitamin C, mineral supplements, and top-quality food. He's responding well - breathing easier, he can open his eyes, and he's getting very talkative - typical Siamese. He makes a ton of weird, un-catlike noises. His teeth are in rough shape. They'll probably have to pull a bunch of them when they put him under to neuter him.

The best part is I probably won't have to pay for any of this. I do quite a bit of volunteer work for a local animal welfare/adoption group called New Mexico Animal Friends. If his FeLV/FIV tests come up negative, we'll place him in our adoption system and they'll pay for his neuter and veterinary care. I can't OWN more than 6 cats, but I can FOSTER as many as I want - nice loophole in the law.

He's my first adult rescue, and a very sick kitty who will require a lot of time and TLC on my part. He's extremely sweet and friendly. It absolutely, literally, makes me CRY and TEAR my HAIR OUT that anyone would abuse, neglect, or abandon a beautiful, quality cat like this one. I just don't know what the HELL is wrong with people sometimes! He has the loveliest blue eyes. I'll put some pictures of him up eventually, when he's healthy, fat, and fluffy again.

Wish me (and Walter) luck! I'll keep you updated. Save lives. Get your pets spayed and neutered. If you have cats, keep them indoors.